Analog To Digital Television - A Series of Demystification

A year away, but already massive confusion. I can't go a week without my mother-in-law asking what she needs to do to prepare (see a future post on who is most impacted). There continues to be great debate, and conspiracy accusations, as to the requirement for broadcasters to switch from analog to digital transmission by the end of the day February 17, 2009. Who wins? Cable Companies, Satelite Companies, Telco Companies, Device Manufacturers, IPTV Providers, the Federal Government................somewhat. The real winner: The Consumer. Oh yeah, we aften forget about the 100m households (see future post on "The Numbers".......I have seen somewhere between 30m and 1 trillion tv's that won't be digitally compliant) that have digital service and will continute to get better and cooler services - better picture; more programming (200 channels from Time Warner alone); on demand programming, interactivity with internet, photosharing, video sharing, internet to TV, etc..; parental controls; less commercials; and many more. I am a consumer advocate, however, I advocate advancement, choice, and the positive side of this transition. There needs to be more education - but you have to admit it is still a year away, and people are getting info (see dtvanswers.com or dtv.org), although neither highlight the advantages.......we need a source that explains that digital TV is good!